Help with my Dendrobium Kingianum

[librajo]

Ive had this plant since Oct 2020. Someone had thrown it out. It wasnt flowering when i got it and the spikes had been cut. You can see one in the lower two leaves. Repotted it in orchid bark at first with a little moss. Watered it when dry. It keeps losing leaves. it started out with 9 leaves and now it has 4. They turn yellow and fall off. I cut the stems because they didnt have leaves anymore. So now I have two stems and two leaves. I cant tell if its two much water or not enough, or if it need more light or something else. The yellowing has happened a couple times after watering but once just randomly in between watering. I removed the moss and now I just repotted again with 50/50 bark and small rocks because of something I read. Its also standing in a tray with beads and a little water for humidity. It sits in my Bay window with 3 other orchids (all phals) that are doing great there. But this one isnt and Im afraid to water it now. There has been no new growth really except for something coming out in between the top two leaves very slowly. The other old spikes were between the leaves so i was hoping it was a flower spike. But if the leaves keep falling off I certainly wont get flowers. Im not sure what to do. HELP!!

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

First, it probably wasn't being watered enough. This species needs water all year. It needs a lot in summer, and less in winter, but it should not dry out completely. I would think once a week is not enough in a heated home.

Many orchids have very seasonal growth patterns, especially this one. When you repot at the wrong season you damage roots. The plant may not be ready to grow new roots for months. Wait to repot most orchids until new roots are just beginning to form. And don't cut parts off sick orchids. They were still storing water. The pot it is in is of good size now. Don't repot this plant again before spring 2022 or 2023.

For now keep this plant moist, but not soggy. Don't let it get completely dry. It is a sturdy species, so it has a good chance of surviving.

As spring progresses it should make new growths from the base. Take care not to let it dry out at that point. Eventually the growths will form new roots. Water heavily all summer from that point on. Fertilize regularly when it's in growth - there is time to read about that here, so I won't discuss it. It may continue to form new growths from the base through the summer.

Next fall the growths will top out with 2 or 3 leaves. Stop fertilizing when growths are mostly mature. Reduce watering for the winter but don't let it go completely dry. If you want it to flower it needs about 4 - 6 weeks in winter with nights of 55F or below. It will take temperatures just above freezing, but don't risk it. Some people think you can get flowers without low temperatures by keeping it dry all winter. It doesn't work, and you've already found out what happens if you keep it too dry in winter.

[librajo]

Thanks so much. ok I gave it a pour thru 1/2 cup of filtered water. I guess I will do that every few days and see how it goes. I was soaking it before, so maybe that was a problem. Even tho you said it wasnt enough water. Its so confusing because I thought yellow leaves meant too much water. Plus now its potted in stones and bark, which I only did today before I posted here. Before it was in just bark and before that it had moss on top. I just couldnt figure out if it was getting too much or too little water. When I took it out to repot it today the roots looked the same as they did in Oct. Like light brown strings. The roots look so different from the phals so I wasnt sure what they were supposed to look like and still dont really know. I wont cut any more of it. Theres not much more to cut anyway.
Thanks again.

Jo